Shoulder impingement

Didn't know where to post this, I've a suspected shoulder impingement awaiting ultrasound to find out what's going on exactly. Am I going to cause more damage if I carry on working out? Some movements are extremely painful as you can imagine, I've tried to eliminate these for the time being, the question is, if there is no pain am I safe to say I'm not causing damage or should I stop completely?
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Replies

  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    6 shoulder operations here. I would stop until the doctor/physical therapist can see what is going on. If you have the right medical team they will be more than happy to discuss what you can do without further injury.

    Best of luck.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,515 Member
    I have been having shoulder problems as well. If imaging rules out something that requires repair, your PT can lead you back to exercises that help. There are other treatment options, like cortisone shots, that can help.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
    I would stop, your body is telling you something.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,971 Member
    2 rotator cuff surgeries here.

    Listen to your body and stop doing anything involving the shoulder until the ptoblem is fully assessed and treated medically.
  • ROBOTFOOD
    ROBOTFOOD Posts: 5,527 Member
    I messed up my RC bad last year. I'd wait until you get the results back. I chose to not do the OP and see if time could fix it. It did. With PT and high volume band work. About 3mo until I was near PR strength again for bench etc. I still did other lifts though like deads and squats. Most pulling movements felt good.
  • jdscrubs32
    jdscrubs32 Posts: 514 Member
    Had rotator cuff issues last year. Went to physio who gave me good exercises and stretches to do to help improve the issues which I still do now for overall health of the area. I could still workout at the time but was told not to do anything overhead, especially OHP, pulls ups & the like and to not go below parallel on certain exercises like bench press and rows. Thankfully I dont have the issues anymore.

    First of all go, stop working out and see what the physio recommends. Good luck.
  • Morgaen73
    Morgaen73 Posts: 2,818 Member
    MeganAM89 wrote: »
    I would stop completely until I knew what exactly was going on. I wouldn't want to worry about doing more damage.

    This ^^^

    I had this last year. Physio therapy worked for me but basically I had to stop my upper body workouts until it was sorted and then ease my way back in.
  • _Phill727
    _Phill727 Posts: 57 Member
    I had a pretty bad shoulder impingement as well. Doctors and PT didn't do the trick for me, it seemed like they were using standard oldschool techniques to address the symptoms, not the root cause.

    It caused me to really learn my own body and it ended up being a combo of forward shoulder posture all day and pectoral tightness.. i know, weird.
    Lots of myofascial release done by myself and from a sports message therapist as well as many cupping sessions and i feel 100% now
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    _Phill727 wrote: »
    I had a pretty bad shoulder impingement as well. Doctors and PT didn't do the trick for me, it seemed like they were using standard oldschool techniques to address the symptoms, not the root cause.

    It caused me to really learn my own body and it ended up being a combo of forward shoulder posture all day and pectoral tightness.. i know, weird.
    Lots of myofascial release done by myself and from a sports message therapist as well as many cupping sessions and i feel 100% now

    Actually from my experience this is isn't weird at all. My shoulder issues were mainly the result of 30+ years at an office job hunched over a computer keyboard. I did so much damage, I ultimately needed surgeries.

    A good PT will be aware of the impact of forward shoulder posture and give specific moves to help correct it. The person I mainly worked with was a former D1 baseball player, DPT working in a clinic supporting an orthopedic surgeon who specialized in shoulders. The PT just did shoulder, elbow and wrist/hand rehab so was really an expert in the area.
  • jdscrubs32
    jdscrubs32 Posts: 514 Member
    I will throw the following out there. If you are experiencing forward shoulder posture all day and pectoral tightness as @_Phill727 and if this is from an office job hunched over a computer keyboard like what happened to @Packerjohn I would suggest taking up pilates. It has helped me with my posture from a desk bound job and there are movements in Pilates which are great for shoulder rehab. Just an idea.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    Another thing that can contribute to shoulder impingement/issues is lack of thoracic spine mobility. Lots of stuff out there, this is from Dan Pope a physical therapist with a special interest in overhead athletes, crossfit, etc

    http://fitnesspainfree.com/the-6-best-thoracic-mobility-exercises/

    Eric Cressey is a well known shoulder guy. Lots of free content on his site.

    https://ericcressey.com/
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    _Phill727 wrote: »
    I had a pretty bad shoulder impingement as well. Doctors and PT didn't do the trick for me, it seemed like they were using standard oldschool techniques to address the symptoms, not the root cause.

    It caused me to really learn my own body and it ended up being a combo of forward shoulder posture all day and pectoral tightness.. i know, weird.
    Lots of myofascial release done by myself and from a sports message therapist as well as many cupping sessions and i feel 100% now

    I think this is actually fairly common...this had become an issue for me but in my case, my PT has been working on things to help pull my shoulders and my head back...lots of rows and face pulls, etc and I've taken it easy on chest work.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
    Lol. As I'm typing this, I'm under a heated wrap on my shoulder, getting for more PT. I had an injury to my bicep in February, emergency surgery to fix it and then ended up with a frozen shoulder. I have a long road ahead.

    Don't mess with injuries that are painful because rehabilitation sucks. Rest is good.

    Let us know how you are.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,515 Member
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Lots of stuff out there, this is from Dan Pope a physical therapist with a special interest in overhead athletes, crossfit, etc

    http://fitnesspainfree.com/the-6-best-thoracic-mobility-exercises/

    Eric Cressey is a well known shoulder guy. Lots of free content on his site.

    https://ericcressey.com/

    Holy crap! When I look at those huge deadlifts, I think "no wonder they have shoulder problems. How could you not?"

    For those of us who just want to keep (e.g.) swimming, the approach is a bit different.

    If you are not in particularly good shape, PT-ordered exercises can really help. Maybe you will go on to be a weightlifter!

    For accomplished swimmers who develop shoulder problems (like me), a combination of stroke modification, exercises, and pressure treatment can help.

    Pressure treatment can be accomplished by getting a massage ball and leaning against it, rolling it around your "lats and traps." I like using a door. I also use a heating pad. I am also in favor of using ibuprofen on exercise days.

    I have been told that cortisone shots can help, but that there are sometimes side effects, including weakening of tendons. So far, I have declined such treatment.
  • Kait_Dee
    Kait_Dee Posts: 175 Member
    I follow Omar Isuf; his background is in sports rehab. I used his mobility warm up to strengthen and increase mobility in my shoulders while rehabbing a terres injury from bench & continue to use much of it a few times a week even now.

    Not sure if it would work or be of interest, but here's the link:

    https://youtu.be/sPm5dQ4_yhE
  • Kait_Dee
    Kait_Dee Posts: 175 Member
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Another thing that can contribute to shoulder impingement/issues is lack of thoracic spine mobility. Lots of stuff out there, this is from Dan Pope a physical therapist with a special interest in overhead athletes, crossfit, etc

    http://fitnesspainfree.com/the-6-best-thoracic-mobility-exercises/

    Eric Cressey is a well known shoulder guy. Lots of free content on his site.

    https://ericcressey.com/

    Cressy is also a favourite - great shoulder stuff!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,454 Member
    Lol. As I'm typing this, I'm under a heated wrap on my shoulder, getting for more PT. I had an injury to my bicep in February, emergency surgery to fix it and then ended up with a frozen shoulder. I have a long road ahead.

    Don't mess with injuries that are painful because rehabilitation sucks. Rest is good.

    Let us know how you are.
    Lol, so for the past couple of weeks I've been dealing with shoulder discomfort. Was sure it was a shoulder impingement. So I started rehabbing it (I'm well versed at it) and it seemed to get better, but for some reason my discomfort continued.
    Well I don't train arms directly on a regular basis and last week I decided to do a little bicep work. And when I went to do my first set of curls, my bicep tendonitis kicked in. Then I tracked it up my arm and it hit me...............my shoulder hurts because of my bicep tendonitis. So I did the assessment for bicep tendonitis and every position hurt my shoulder. So now I'm on track again to rehab however now I've identified was caused the shoulder pain in the first place.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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  • slider728
    slider728 Posts: 1,494 Member
    I have nothing to say that hasn't been said already. I've been down the same road you are on and ended up getting my shoulder scoped.

    Just wanted to with you luck in the healing process!
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Lots of stuff out there, this is from Dan Pope a physical therapist with a special interest in overhead athletes, crossfit, etc

    http://fitnesspainfree.com/the-6-best-thoracic-mobility-exercises/

    Eric Cressey is a well known shoulder guy. Lots of free content on his site.

    https://ericcressey.com/

    Holy crap! When I look at those huge deadlifts, I think "no wonder they have shoulder problems. How could you not?"

    For those of us who just want to keep (e.g.) swimming, the approach is a bit different.

    If you are not in particularly good shape, PT-ordered exercises can really help. Maybe you will go on to be a weightlifter!

    For accomplished swimmers who develop shoulder problems (like me), a combination of stroke modification, exercises, and pressure treatment can help.

    Pressure treatment can be accomplished by getting a massage ball and leaning against it, rolling it around your "lats and traps." I like using a door. I also use a heating pad. I am also in favor of using ibuprofen on exercise days.

    I have been told that cortisone shots can help, but that there are sometimes side effects, including weakening of tendons. So far, I have declined such treatment.

    I would venture to say the structure of one's shoulders would make a difference as to which is more stressful on them, swimming or heavy deadlifting.

    In any case, good thought regarding the self myofascial release (pressure treatment). If anyone wants to try this, lots of videos out there. However, IMO, don't go out and get something labeled a "massage ball" as you will likely be overpaying. Instead get a softball, baseball, lacrosse ball, etc. Basically the same thing 1/4 or less cost.
  • aown61
    aown61 Posts: 62 Member
    Thanks for all the input guys, it's very hard for me to stop training, it's just my thing! I have been able to go and train legs, bi's/tri's, and back, I'm leaving well alone my chest and shoulders... anything that involves raising my arms above parallel really. Just want to get my ultra sound done to see what I'm looking at, some days it's been extremely painful just to put my coat on :(